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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the welfare inspector recommend to the welfare agency after the visit?

2. Why did Fireman Jim Stack have to stay longer at the hospital after the Intervale Avenue fire in Chapter 10?

3. After years of "carrying death in my hands," what did Smith see firefighting as lacking?

4. Why did Smith not want to leave the South Bronx?

5. At what age did Smith drop out of school?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Smith distinguish between acts of shoplifting and looting within poor neighborhoods?

2. Does Smith feel that society has become more violent over the years, and if so, why?

3. Why did Smith think it was useless to argue with the sneering youths hanging around a fireman's car in Chapter 10?

4. Why were some of the firefighters unwilling to help out at the department's occasional parties for neighborhood kids?

5. Why does Smith suggest that perhaps even with guidance, South Bronx resident Tina de Vega may still have ended up on drugs and prostituting herself?

6. Describe the character of Lieutenant Collins.

7. Did Smith's wife appreciate her husband's devotion to his job?

8. In what key way does Smith say the modern firefighting exams are different from those of the past?

9. What did Smith find most frustrating about the attack on the firefighters (the dropped garbage can) in Chapter 8?

10. Why had the system of safety inspections changed so radically?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Some of the South Bronx children, including Tina de Vega, occasionally visited Engine Co. 82 when they were younger. Why do you think these children made these visits to talk to Smith and the other firemen? Were they simply bored? Were they looking for some sort of adult guidance? Were they reaching out to the adult world?

Essay Topic 2

Smith reveals a particular contempt for people who steal from their fellow poor and mentions that he himself shoplifted from fancy stores as a child, but would never have stolen from a neighbor. What do you think about this attitude? Is it acceptable for the poor to steal from stores? Does shoplifting have an effect only on the store owner or does the effect trickle down to the entire community? Should the punishments be different depending upon whom the victim is?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 2, a young boy was injured when a driver known for hot-rodding sped through the neighborhood; the driver was beaten by the gathered crowd before being rescued by police. Smith pointed out that while the boy never cried, the driver was weeping in the police car because he was worried he wouldn't be protected. How did the firefighters react to the man's attitude? In what way is physical pain sometimes easier to handle than mental pain? Does knowing you have been guilty of a crime cause pain? Did the man's crying indicate that he felt remorse for what he had done or was it simply cowardice? Is it ever easy to face up to despicable acts?

(see the answer keys)

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